The Commonwealth (1649 - 1653)

On January 30th 1649, Charles I was beheaded in front of the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall Palace. 7 years before, few people could have predicted this outcome. The late King's opponents had only set out to control his rule and actions, they had not set out to oust him, let alone try and execute him, and what was created in place of the monarchy was unprecedented in British history. Although previous monarchs had been deposed and/or killed, none had ever been tried, or accused treason against their own people, and they had always been succeeded by another Monarch of the Royal blood. This time however, it was not possible to simply replace the monarch with another Royal who was more acceptable. The Civil War had not been a dynastic struggle between rival members of the Royal family, and Charles I's son and successor (later Charles II) had an undisputed claim to the throne. However, Charles the younger was in exile and was implacably hostile to the Parliamentary side that had killed his father, so simply replacing the father with the son was not an acceptable option, particularly for the regicides who had signed the late King's death warrant and who stood to lose everything if Charles II was ever allowed to claim his throne.  In any case, radicals within the New Model Army, which had become a political force in its own right, had already, even before the end of the First Civil War, begun to question the very need for a monarchy, and had advocated a Republic ruled by a committee of 'godly men'. The grandees of the Parliamentary side, including Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton, had rejected such revolutionary ideas until their failure to negotiate a settlement with Charles I forced them to put him to death and create a republican form of government for lack of a better alternative.

Ireland

In Ireland, Cromwell's troops massacred the garrisons of all towns which refused to surrender. This meant that other towns quickly gave in to the occupying forces. When the fighting was over land was taken from the rebellious Catholic population and given to those Protestants who were loyal to England. In this way the fertile north-east of Ireland (which is still part of the United Kingdom today) came to be mostly Protestant, while the poorer parts of the west and south, (today the Republic of Ireland), remained Catholic.

Scotland

The Scots were furious with the English for the execution of their king, Charles I. They promptly crowned his son, Charles II, who led an invasion of England. Cromwell allowed them to come as far south as Worcester and then destroyed the Scots army. The young Charles II, after many adventures, managed to escape to Louis XIV's France.

The Rump Parliament

Cromwell abolished the House of Lords and only tolerated a handful of Puritan MPs, those who were friends of the army, in the House of Commons. There were many ideas about how England should be governed.

The Royalists simply wanted Charles II on the throne, to rule as had his father. General Harrison, a religious fanatic, preferred an assembly of 'Godly' men to run the country 'until Christ returned'. A group called the Levellers, led by John Lilburne, wanted to try something completely new. They wanted all men to have a vote to elect MPs to the Commons which would then rule the country. A movement which developed within the New Model Army, created a group called the Independents. This group demanded free elections and total religious toleration. Some people, called Diggers, even wanted to abolish private property and hold land communally.

Cromwell did not like any of these ideas. He just wanted England governed in a firm, Godly manner. It is said that he had no personal ambition or desire for power. He was, however, the only man able to control the army.